Merchants open with 6-2 loss in Augusta
The Abbotsford Merchants opened their 2023 season with a trip to Augusta on Saturday afternoon. The Merchants were downed by the hometown Athletics, who took the non-league game by a score of 6-2.
Augusta jumped out to an early lead, driving in two runs in the first inning. Abbotsford starting pitcher Evan Reis settled down after that, silencing the opposing lineup through the rest of his start.
The Athletics tagged relief pitcher Aaron Morrow for a run in the bottom of the fifth to extend their lead out to 3-0, but much like Reis, Morrow would settle into the game.
While the Abbotsford defense had held their opponents relatively quiet over the first seven innings, their lineup struggled to get anything going against the Athletics pitchers.
Augusta starter Aiden Rosemeyer pitched four innings of two hit ball to keep the Merchants off the board. Strikeouts plagued the visitors, with Rosemey er striking out eight batters over his four innings of work and the Merchants totalling 16 total at the plate over the course of the game.
Despite that, Abbotsford was finally able to break through in the eighth, scoring a run to bring them within two of the Athletics. However, a big three-run bottom half of the frame for Augusta put them up by five. The Merchants rallied again in the ninth, pushing across a second run, but a game ending double-play with bases loaded stopped the comeback in its tracks.
Reis struck out six while walking three over his four innings of work, giving up two earned runs. Morrow struck out three and walked four, allowing four runs over the final four innings.
Reis also had the team’s sole RBI, going 1-3 from the plate and drawing two walks. Trevor Stuttgen and Chance Clement each scored a run for the Merchants and Hunter Soyk, Blake Bargender and Neal Hogden each picked up hits in the contest. Abbotsford out-hit the Athletics six to five, despite the difference in score.
The team’s next game will be away Sunday, June 11 versus Interwald. The start time for the game is 1:30 p.m.
